Damnatorium Ferrum

In the very beginning black metal was reckoned only with Scandinavia or other northern countries with the stern mode of life and inclement climate. Very soon BM became popular in metal societies of different countries but exactly the northern warriors were remained as the main experts of this extreme sound. But shortly after United States became enough important on BM scene in the beginning of 00's, France declared about itself and nowadays we can see the big amount of really talented and meaningful musicians from that country. It is pointless to name all of them, but I think such names like Deathspell Omega, Mutiilation, Glorioir Belli, Nocturnal Depression and Anorexia Nervosa tell its own tale.

Sacrificia Mortuorum? I got to know with them when I heard the split with Horna. And I can speak with the full confidence that SM impressed me even much more than the renowned metalheads from Finland. Two Horna's songs even do not to have the slightest resemblance to three great tracks performed by Frenchmen. So, it is easily to understand that I was more than impressed and I bought their last "Damnatorium Ferrum" at once. I cannot describe the feelings I had. I just can say that France rose in my estimation much more and this country can be considered as a great metal country.

The sound itself rather often reminds me of early Forgotten Woods mixed with Taake and/or Nocturnal Depression by its musical constituent part. Especially it can be clearly heard on the seventh track called "Liberare a Servitudine". The screaming is something between Hoest's and Torkelsen's vocals, and also there are some moments, riffs, which are really sound close to similar to Forgotten Woods. Drums sound enough clearly to enjoy the album; sometimes we can hear blast beats which are not very pertinent here indeed. So, in general, we observe here not very original, but excellent black metal that is worthy of checking.

The sound here is a little bit distorted, but tolerable and you'll enjoy music if you're not very exacting to the smoothness of the sounding. It is even better than on both previous ones.

As I said they didn't bring anything knew to black metal, but they did their work in a professional way and performed brilliant example of such music on "Damnatorium Ferrum". The main feature of this album is that it would not disappoint you in any way. It is just flawless. Buy it!

Given the disappointments attached to listening to Sacrificia Mortuorum’s debut and the delight attached to listening to their sophomore record, ‘Maturum Est’, I was apprehensive when coming into the new piece, the third full-length in four years, ‘Damnatorium Ferrum’. French black metal is well publicised and is often stated to be the leading underdog in a competitive market. With nations like America and Germany supposedly leading the way, France would have a great battle of their hands if they wanted to challenge the competition, which is strong to this day. Of course, we still cannot write off the whole of Scandinavia. It would be blasphemous to do so with no real reason to do so and since they’re often cited as the originators of the influential second wave, which still holds a firm reputation to this day, Scandinavia is justifiably included in the war of the nations and struggle between continents for the rights to the genre, the key to the city and eternal gratitude. With the arrival of ‘Damnatorium Ferrum’, Sacrificia Mortuorum have indicated a slight swing in forces, when it comes to their music in a general sense. From the early days, when the raw talents were on show, perhaps a bit too much, which ultimately led to a series of errors on the part of the band, to the modern day era, in which Sacrificia Mortuorum have become more mature.

There are debates of the National Socialist kind in reference to this band. There’s a section who believe the French two man outfit adhere to the ways of National Socialism and this is particularly shown in their lyrics. However, there is also an avid section who claim these accusations to be false. Personally, I’m sitting on the fence. As I’ve not really studied their lyrics, it seems that the song titles implied that the band adhered to the political system that draws much debate amongst metal fans and non-metal fans. Songs like ‘Aryan Supremacy’, for example, were leading examples that the accusations were true but, having read both sides of the debate, it seems that songs like this are about the horrors of concentration camps, which is the polar opposite to supporting them and National Socialist ideas. So, the band seem to have a political mindset, which doesn’t particularly interest me as I’m not keen on political discussions (meaning inane cyclical arguments that come to no particular conclusion) or anything like that, so instantly I’m led to believe the appeal of this band, for me, is entirely in the instrumental conceptions, most notably the influence of the guitars on Sacrificia Mortuorum’s soundscapes. This record, ‘Damnatorium Ferrum’, is the prime example of Sacrificia Mortuorum’s evolution through the genre. From the early days where mistakes were their friend and innovation was the enemy, to 2009, where Sacrificia Mortuorum exhibit a more mature sound which, although still paling in comparison to the fuzzy distortion of ‘Maturum Est’, is much more pleasant to listen to from beginning to end and allows areas like the bass to have more of an affect that was possible on the previous record, which is a plus, for sure.

The material present, in a general sense, as stated, doesn’t live up to the previous records high standards, but it does set a fine example for French black metal, sounding much like bands from the same region such as Celestia and Kristallnacht (who’re actually a formerly associated band) - two fondly thought of French bands, one whom used to have Neige as a member. The vocalist even reminds me of Neige, in terms of his vocals for other bands like Peste Noire and Mortifera, as opposed to his clean renditions for the hotly disputed Alcest. Aside from tracks like, ’Caligo Tenebrarum’ where the vocalist uses a more despaired and back of the throat scream, as opposed to the rasps, his performance is much like that of Neige when he’s not performing for Alcest, though his voice contains darker connotations, whereas Neige’s voice is lighter. Its strange how certain scenes manage to amass the same sort of sound - like the Hellenic scene from Greece, for example. The bands present within this scene, which is nothing like that of the Les Legions Noire, is similar throughout the bands which participate in it, though Sacrificia Mortuorum have always struck me as the band with the most potential, despite the fact that they’ve only had one real hit in three attempts. The fast paced style is suited to a cleaner style, but there was a charm in the distortion which overwhelmed the listener on ‘Maturum Est’.

The distortion was used like it was another instrument, one with such power and presence that it could literally shape the rest of the record into whatever form it wanted. That element of the music is no longer here, so Sacrificia Mortuorum need a new outlet and to me, they haven’t found one as of yet. The band are facing difficult questions of ‘Damnatorium Ferrum’ and, unfortunately, they aren’t quite answering those yet, though there is signs of promise in much of the music. The twisting and fast paced style is enjoyable enough as it is, but there needs to be an aspect that will knock the listener off their seats and firmly plant their arses onto the ground - this isn’t yet available to us. Perhaps a return to the production of old would bring about a change in my perception, but as far as I’m aware, this record has been greatly received from a wider ranging audience, so I highly doubt I’ll get my wish in the end. Sacrificia Mortuorum were never about conflicting the listener with high voltage emotions, but instead pummelling them with fast paced instrumentation and hissing vocals that licked them with the blood of Satan himself. I would like Sacrificia Mortuorum to resort to longer passages of ambiance, as that might offer them a new outlet in which they could forget about the distortion which oddly held the music together like glue. However, this record, to me, is a work in progress. Its not the best, but it’s a significant improvement on the debut. Definitely worth your time.